A Different World
by Erycina
Summary: This is an alternate ending type story where the Battle of Hogwarts never happened, and the Trio are still on the run.


**Ok here is some background: Ron didn't leave them in the forest. Never found sword of Gryffindor or basilisk fang. Torture scene was over the necklace not the sword. Escaped Malfoy manor the same way. No battle of Hogwarts. If there are any more questions please ask, and I will address them.**

Chapter 1

Hermione lay with her head propped upon her arm trying hard to force her eyes open as she stared at the scars etched into her skin. For a year now she, Harry, and Ron had been travelling through the barren wilderness of Britain hunting for clues of horcruxes, running from Snatchers, stalling the inevitable-Hermione wasn't even sure what they were doing anymore. Too many close calls had occurred what with the entire horde of Death Eaters searching for them, but they were just lucky to have escaped Malfoy Manor alive. They hadn't heard from anyone since they had left, meaning their friends and families were either dead or enslaved or so the Trio presumed. Hermione moaned in disgust at the thought of almost everyone she ever knew gone forever, and it was all her fault. They were no closer to ending this war than they were when they started; they would fail the world she just knew it. Innocent people would die, all her friends would suffer, she would never see her parents again, and she dare not think of her own fate.

If only they had found a way to destroy what horcruxes they knew existed. Hermione scoffed, '_I had found a way!' _However, with the invasion of the Death Eaters, they could find no way to gain access to Hogwarts to get to the Chamber of Secrets where the Basilisk cadaver rested. A silent tear of frustration trickled down Hermione's cheek as the weight of the whole situation pressed in around her. Perhaps it would be easier to just end it all. '_I do have a few potions that would make quick work of it_,' Hermione thought briefly. Tracing the scars with her finger, Hermione spelled out the horrid word "MUDBLOOD" that was now a permanent reminder of what she was in this new world. '_I could never leave Harry and Ron like that. It's too selfish_,' Hermione reasoned.

"Hermione, come to bed already," Harry murmured from his cot. Hermione lifted her head from the table to look over at her friend who was peering at her worriedly through his glasses. '_I can't rest until I find some solution! What good am I if I can't put my brains to actual use?_' she thought. "It is a bit late, isn't it," she whispered quietly, "I'll be just a minute. You don't have to wait up for me." Harry smiled, "Wasn't exactly. Just couldn't really sleep with all the noise." With a nod of his head, Harry motioned towards Ron who was snoring quite loudly from his corner of the tent.

Sighing dejectedly, Hermione closed the book she had been attempting to read and stood up slowly. Looking around their make-shift home, Hermione saw nothing of comfort to ease her troubled thoughts: No pictures, no books, and no answers. She stumbled listlessly towards her cot. "Hermione-"Harry said softly now sitting up, "Give me the necklace now, won't you? I believe you've worn it long enough." She looked at his outstretched hand sorrowfully. '_Harry you don't have to always be strong for us. Let me suffer with you!_' Hermione inwardly cried. She paused for a moment before nodding with a forced smile. "You've always been the strongest of us, Hermione. You never take out the effects of the necklace on anyone but yourself," Harry whispered sadly. Hermione patted him gently on the hand before heading off toward to her cot.

Settling down for bed, Hermione could already feel the effects of the horcrux wearing off. She snuggled deep into the covers trying to ward off some of the winter cold. The problems were still there, no doubt, but the possibilities no longer seemed so bleak as before. She had with her here the two absolute best friends in the whole world. Even if the rest of the world burned to the ground, at least she had them no matter what. '_Despite all that has happened_,' she thought, '_I can't regret a single moment that I have spent with them._' With a hopeless smile, Hermione closed her weary eyes for a few hours of peace.

A few hours of sleep turned out to only be a couple before Hermione was startled awake. "Blimey 'Mione I can't sleep with all the moaning and groaning. Can't you do something?" "What?" Hermione mumbled in her confused state. She opened her eyes to see Ron's face hovering above hers looking off in another direction. "It's Harry. He's thrashing around again and crying in his sleep. Do you have some more of that dreamless sleep stuff?"

Hermione bolted up and looked over to see Harry clenching his jaw and turning his head from side to side. "Oh…damn!" She hissed, "He's wearing the horcrux; it must be giving him nightmares again. Why haven't you roused him?" Hermione moved across the room to her bag and started digging through it. "And risk getting another fist in my face? Not bloody likely," chuckled Ron, "Just use that potion you've been giving him." Hermione threw a vial back into her bag exasperatedly. Setting her jaw she looked up at her tall redheaded friend, "I can't! I used up the last of it last week." Ron looked at her blankly. "You couldn't mix up another batch by any chance, could you?" Her sardonic glare answered that question fully.

"I have an idea!" Ron said brightly, "You can wake him up while I go put on a pot of tea. That way-"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Ronald!" said the flustered witch as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the sleeping boy, "Aguamenti." Harry woke up sputtering and cursing. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?!" yelled Harry as he bolted upwards while wiping the water off his face. He jumped up swiftly and pointed his wand dangerously at his best female friend. "What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?" Harry said icily. Her mouth agape, Hermione stood there for a split second just staring at what looked like her friend but sounded like someone else entirely before switching back to as normal a demeanor as she could compose. Handing him a towel, Hermione said, "Y-you were having another nightmare, and Ron was too afraid to wake you up. Harry, please let me have the necklace for a while so you can get your wits about you." He stared at her suspiciously, but slowly lowered his wand. Harry's face turned somber as he lifted the horcrux off his neck and handed it to Hermione. She began to place it around her neck, but Ron's hand deftly plucked it from her fingers and placed it on his own. He smiled at her meekly before turning around to act like he was looking for something.

"Hermione…." Harry started.

"Don't worry about it. Now what were you dreaming?" Hermione dismissed. As much as Hermione disapproved of Harry letting You-Know-Who into his mind, she had to admit that there were times when his dreams had given them just enough warning to escape a trap or an attack of some sort.

"It was about him again. Vold-"

"SHHHH Harry! Don't say his name. It's taboo!" Ron whined desperately. Hermione threw a nasty look at Ron as she sat down by Harry. Placing her arm around his shoulders, she whispered, "Go on." Ron made his way over to the other side of his best mate and sat down as well. "I don't actually remember anything in particular. I could feel the cruciatus curse, and I heard his voice saying it over and over again." Harry drifted off and looked into space. "Saying what, Harry?" Ron asked. Harry shuddered slightly as if a chill had dropped upon the room. "His name…" he murmured. Ron and Hermione gave each other a confused and worried look behind Harry.

"His muggle name? or his self-made name?" Hermione asked gently.

"Vold-"

"SHHHHHH!" Ron insisted. Harry sighed, "Fine, he was repeating You-Know-What." Hermione chewed on her lip thoughtfully, "You said before that you always feel what he feels, but why would he be under the effects of the cruciatus curse? It doesn't make any sense." They all sat there for a moment completely silent.

"If I knew, I would tell you," Harry said finally while standing up and walking toward the flap of the tent," I need some fresh air. I will stay close, but I just have to shake the thoughts of Vo-"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry! Stop saying his name. I've told you repeatedly that it's taboo for crying out loud," Ron all but growled. Hermione sighed, knowing that something bad was probably about to happen. "Go ahead and go. I can handle this," Hermione said to Harry who nodded grimly and went outside. Hermione snapped up quickly and bent down to look into Ron's eyes. She could practically see the curse from the necklace swirling around in the liquid pools of his eyes and could also see her own reflection distorted into a sneering, ugly version of herself who was laughing dauntingly in Ron's face. "He's only been wearing it a few minutes!" Hermione thought in panic.

Straightening up slowly, she said, "Right, so the horcrux is obviously growing stronger which I can only assume means that You-Know-Who himself is growing stronger, as well."

"Well, what are we gonna bloody do about it then?!" Ron demanded, "You figured out that we need the Sword of Gryffindor, but guess what? We don't know where the hell it is, so we can do absolute bullocks!" At this point, Ron had risen to his full height and was towering over Hermione with a fearsome gaze.

"Ron, please-", Hermione begged.

"Think about it, Hermione. There is absolutely no chance that we are ever going to be able to defeat You-Know-Who! Too many have died trying to protect Harry, and who knows what happened to my family, for Merlin's sake! It's only a matter of time before they find us. I may be a blood traitor, but you are a mudblood! You are filthy mudblood who they will probably violate and torture for fun right before they give you a humiliating and merciless death. Yet, you're telling me that you want to keep traipsing about through the wilderness with the "boy who can't do anything"?!" Ron demanded. Hermione couldn't help the few tears that glided down her face despite the obvious fact that the necklace was the one speaking.

"Why even bother with that though? The War is over, and we have Harry Potter. Why not just hand him over and live comfortably? They would give us amnesty for that. Or are you still pretending that you aren't completely shoved up his arse?!" Ron sneered at Hermione, "News Flash to Hermione: Harry has never wanted you, and he never will. That bastard would rather shag my sister if she's even still alive. Or do you care at all? It's not like you're accomplishing-"

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled from the front of the tent. Ron fell with a thump causing Hermione to give a frightened gasp. She quickly ran over to her fallen friend to check for any injuries.

"Didn't know how much more I could take of that," Harry murmured apologetically. Hermione glanced at him morosely before turning back to Ron.

"You know he didn't mean any of that," Hermione said through a small stream of tears. Harry walked over to her and pulled her up to his level. Enveloping her in a comforting hug, Harry mumbled, "That doesn't make it any less painful." Hermione pressed her face up against his chest and let the warmth wash over her for just a moment. She honestly didn't know what her feelings were regarding Harry or Ron for that matter, but she couldn't deny the sting Ron's words left. Clearing her throat, Hermione stepped back, but couldn't yet work up the nerve to look Harry in the face.

"I've got to get him back in bed and find out a better way of guarding the necklace," Hermione sighed. Making quick work of levitating Ron back to his bed, Hermione then removed the horcrux and stared at it dismally. They had all switched it out within a matter of hours meaning an alternative was now necessary or someone was going to end up getting hurt.

"So how much did you hear?" Hermione asked quietly. Harry shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"All of it. I was just outside the tent," Harry said while pulling up a chair at the table, "You didn't really think I would leave you alone during one of those spells, did you?"

"Ron always has the worst outbursts. I just wanted to spare you from some of it," Hermione mumbled before letting out a huge yawn. Harry frowned disapprovingly.

"I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep for a while. So let me watch the necklace, and you get some rest. You look positively awful," Harry said jokingly. Hermione's head snapped up.

"No way am I letting you wear that evil contraption! It's gotten too powerful," said Hermione, "I'm going to have to find some way for us to keep it safe that doesn't involve being exposed to its curse."

"I said that I would watch it not wear it," Harry defended, "Figure it out in the morning, Hermione; you haven't slept good in days." Hermione sighed finally acquiescing to his logic.

"I will find a way to fix this, Harry. All of this."

**Thoughts? Advice is always welcome just please keep it polite. I should note that I am a student so I may not update very frequently. **


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